Apparatus and method for matching individuals during an ephemeral time period based upon voting and matching criteria

ABSTRACT

A computer implemented method includes supplying to a client device prompts for a first individual to provide a vote for a preference of the first individual. The preference relates to an activity during an ephemeral time period. The vote is collected. Matches between the first individual and a pool of individuals are generated based upon common votes and matching criteria. The matches are supplied to the client device. A match acceptance for a second individual is collected from the client device. Network communication is enabled between the first individual and the second individual.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to social media dating applicationsdeployed in computer networks. More particularly, this invention isdirected toward techniques for matching individuals during an ephemeraltime period based upon voting and matching criteria.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many individuals avoid social media dating applications that require auser to input extensive information about himself or herself Therefore,several popular social media dating applications require only basicinformation, such as age preference, location range and a photo. Whilesuch minimalistic approaches have appeal, they may lead to inappropriatematches. Therefore, there is a need to maintain a simple social mediadating application entry process that collects sufficient information toestablish improved matches.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A computer implemented method includes supplying to a client deviceprompts for a first individual to provide a vote for a preference thatrelates to an activity during an ephemeral time period. The vote iscollected. Matches between the first individual and a pool ofindividuals are generated based upon common votes and matching criteria.The matches are supplied to the client device. A match acceptance iscollected from the client device for a second individual. Networkcommunication is enabled between the first individual and the secondindividual.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention is more fully appreciated in connection with the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system configured in accordance with an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates processing operations performed in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a user interface configured in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 configured in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The system 100 includes a set of clientdevices 102_1 through 102_N in communication with a server 104 via anetwork 106, which may be any combination of wired and wirelessnetworks. Each client device 102 includes a processor (e.g., centralprocessing unit) 110 in communication with input/output devices 112 viaa bus 114. The input/output devices 112 may include a keyboard, mouse,touch display and the like. A network interface circuit 116 is alsoconnected to the bus 114 to provide connectivity to network 106. Amemory 120 is also connected to the bus 114. The memory 120 storesinstructions executed by the processor 110. In particular, the memory120 stores a dating application 122, which communicates with server 104to coordinate introductions between individuals that have beenidentified as potential matches, and where at least one individual hasaccepted the potential match. Typically, each client device 102_1through 102_N is a mobile device executing the dating application 122.Different client devices 102_1 through 102_N are operated by differentindividuals that subscribe to the same dating application 122.

Server 104 includes standard components, such as a processor 130, bus132, input/output devices 134 and a network interface circuit 136 toprovide connectivity to network 106. A memory 140 is connected to thebus 132. The memory 140 stores a matching module 142 with instructionsexecuted by the processor 130 to implement operations disclosed inconnection with FIG. 2.

Turning to FIG. 2, the matching module 142 initially supplies promptsfor a vote 200. That is, the matching module 142 supplies to a clientdevice operated by a first individual a user interface with prompts thatare used to collect a vote for a preference of the first individual. Thepreference relates to an activity during an ephemeral time period. Forexample, the first individual may be asked to vote on the following:“Today, during 5-7 pm ‘Happy Hour’, would you prefer (1) Pizza, (2)Tacos, (3) Martinis, or (4) None of These.”

FIG. 3 illustrates a user interface 300 that may be supplied from thematching module 142 to a client device 102 in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The user interface 300 includes a prompt301 for a first individual to provide a vote on a question of anactivity during an ephemeral time period. The prompt 301 includesmultiple choices or preferences 302_1 through 302_N from which the firstindividual can choose. The preferences may be the “Happy Hour”preferences listed in the prior paragraph. The first individual mayprovide an input (e.g., a tap on the screen of the client divide) to theuser interface 300 to vote for the preference on the question. Thus, theinterface 300 provides a simple social media dating application entryprocess that collects personal preferences to establish compatible,accelerated and improved matches.

Returning to FIG. 2, vote is collected 202 from client devices 102_1through 102_N at the server 104. The matching module 142 then generatesmatches 204 based upon common votes and matching criteria. The commonvotes represent the same preferences voted by different individuals. Thematching criteria may be based upon any number of factors (e.g., age,gender, geographical area, height, weight, appearance, and/or the like).The matching module 142 may use any number of techniques includingapplied rules, collaborative filtering and/or machine learning togenerate matches. In some embodiments, when generating the matches, thecommon votes have a weight greater than a weight of the matchingcriteria during an ephemeral time period. This mechanism enables thematches to be compatible and accelerated. In one embodiment, once theephemeral time period passes, matches are generated based solely on thematching criteria. In another embodiment, once the ephemeral time periodpasses, matches are generated based on the matching criteria with agreater weight and the common votes with a less weight.

The matches are then supplied 206 from the matching module 142 at theserver 104 to one or more client devices 102. A match acceptance for asecond individual is then collected 208 from client devices 102. Forexample, a photograph of an individual may be presented and a firstgesture (e.g., a swipe down on the screen or a swipe to the left on thescreen) may indicate no interest, while a second gesture (e.g., a swipeup on the screen or a swipe to the right on the screen) may indicateinterest.

Network communication is then enabled between matched and acceptedindividuals 210. For example, network communication in the form of atext message may be enabled between a first individual and a secondindividual in response to a match between the first individual and thesecond individual and a match acceptance by at least one of the firstindividual and the second individual. The criteria to enablecommunication may be configured in a variety of manners. For example, itmay be specified that only one gender may initiate communication.Enabling communication may be predicated upon a single individualaccepting a match. Alternately, enabling communication may be predicatedupon a requirement that both a first individual and a second individualaccept a match. Communication may be enabled for an ephemeral timeperiod (e.g., an hour). During the ephemeral time period, the firstindividual or the second individual may communicate with each other viathe network. Once the ephemeral time period passes, the matching module142 may generate matches based upon the matching criteria only, and notbased upon the vote.

Thus, the matching module 142 facilitates a digital service that canconnect individual users through mutual agreement (matching) forpurposes including, but not exclusively, socialising, networking, anddating. The dating application 122 enables communication for anephemeral time period between users who share a common interest (i.e., acommon vote). Such matching mechanisms may facilitate the subsequentcommunication and accelerate the connecting between the users. Thedating application 122 may be implemented as an application for a mobiledevice, a website or a standalone computer application.

In some embodiments, the server 104 sends a push notification message tothe client device 102 to invite the users to vote on a preference for anactivity during a specified time period. Users have an option to join ornot join. The ephemeral time period may be a pre-determined time of aday (e.g., “Happy Hour between 5 and 7 pm”).

A user's personal profile can include name, age, city, photographs,biographical text, links to social media profiles on other networks, anda range of other fields that allow users to characterize themselves.Once a profile is complete, a user can begin to view the profiles ofother users, while the new profile is circulated among the user base.

In one embodiment, a user is able to filter the profiles of other usersthat are served to them for viewing through setting restrictions uponthe age, location, or potentially any other personal attribute.

A user receives profiles of other users who have met the filteringcriteria; the user is able to explore the personal information that hasbeen added to a profile. Profiles are served to the user one-by-one,with the option to look through multiple pictures per profile, expandtext, and click through to external information and profiles on othersocial networks. To ascertain the mutual agreement to connect two userstogether, every profile viewed must be ‘selected’ on. Having viewed thepersonal profile of another user, the viewing user swipes (click anddrag the profile using their finger) the served profile off the screenin a certain direction (e.g., right or up) if they would like to connectwith that specific user or (e.g., left or down) if they do not.

In one embodiment, once a user has selected yes upon the profile ofanother user, the matching module 142 places the profile of the firstuser into the queue of profiles to be viewed by the second user. Throughthis mechanism the matching module 142 is able to accelerate the pacewith which two users may view each-other's profiles than would happen ina purely organic system of profile selection.

In one embodiment, the system does not require that both users be onlineat the same time for a match to be suggested. In one embodiment, whenone user selects yes and the other user selects no, no furtherconnection is established between the two users, and their profiles maynot be shown to each-other again (or they may be shown again dependingon changes within their profile, location, search parameters, or becauseof time elapsed). When two users both mutually select ‘yes’ upon theother user's profile, a connection is established between the twoaccounts which allows for direct communication. In one embodiment,matched users are directed to a direct messaging system supported byserver 104. This system can display elements of a user's profile inorder to increase recognition of the other user (e.g., name, age,photograph).

Through this the system creates a unique mechanism through which theintention of each user is communicated to other users within the socialnetwork. Once users are within the chat function, they can then senddirect messages back and forth to one-another. Within the chat function,users are also able to modify the status of the connection by‘unmatching’, which is to revoke their side of the mutual agreement tobe connected. Users can also ‘block’ the other user, which serves thesame purpose as ‘unmatching’, but ensures their profile will not beserved to the ‘blocking’ user again.

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a computer storageproduct with a computer readable storage medium having computer codethereon for performing various computer-implemented operations. Themedia and computer code may be those specially designed and constructedfor the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kindwell known and available to those having skill in the computer softwarearts. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limitedto: magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape;optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs and holographic devices;magneto-optical media; and hardware devices that are speciallyconfigured to store and execute program code, such asapplication-specific integrated circuits (“ASICs”), programmable logicdevices (“PLDs”) and ROM and RAM devices. Examples of computer codeinclude machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and filescontaining higher-level code that are executed by a computer using aninterpreter. For example, an embodiment of the invention may beimplemented using JAVA®, C++, or other object-oriented programminglanguage and development tools. Another embodiment of the invention maybe implemented in hardwired circuitry in place of, or in combinationwith, machine-executable software instructions.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that specificdetails are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, theforegoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention arepresented for purposes of illustration and description. They are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formsdisclosed; obviously, many modifications and variations are possible inview of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and describedin order to best explain the principles of the invention and itspractical applications, they thereby enable others skilled in the art tobest utilize the invention and various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It isintended that the following claims and their equivalents define thescope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method, comprising:supplying to a client device data for display on a graphical userinterface, the data including prompts for a first individual to providea vote for a preference that relates to an activity during an ephemeraltime period; receiving the vote from the client device; generatingmatches between the first individual and one or more individuals from apool of individuals based upon common votes and matching criteriaassociated with the first individual, the common votes representing acorresponding preference indicated by the vote from the first individualand votes of the one or more individuals from the pool of individuals,and the matching criteria specifying one or more characteristics of oneor more individuals from the pool of individuals, wherein generating thematches includes applying respective weights to the common votes and thematching criteria, including: during the ephemeral time period, applyinga weight to the common votes that is greater than a weight applied tothe matching criteria; and after the ephemeral time period, applying aweight to the matching criteria that is greater than a weight applied tothe common votes; supplying to the client device data for display on thegraphical user interface, the data including the matches and prompts forthe first individual to accept or decline the matches; receiving a matchacceptance from the client device for a second individual; in responseto receiving the match acceptance, enabling network communication by amessaging system between the first individual and the second individualfor the ephemeral time period; and automatically disabling the networkcommunication by the messaging system after the ephemeral time periodexpires.
 2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the voteis collected from a gesture applied to the client device.
 3. Thecomputer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the gesture is collectedfrom a screen tap in a graphical user interface supplied to the clientdevice.
 4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising modifying the weight applied to the common votes and theweight applied to the matching criteria after the ephemeral time periodexpires.
 5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein theclient device is a mobile device.
 6. The computer implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the messaging system is configured to display an imageassociated with the first individual or the second individual.
 7. Thecomputer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising sending apush notification to the client device with the prompts for a firstindividual to provide the vote for a preference that relates to theactivity during the ephemeral time period.
 8. A system, comprising: oneor more processors; and a computer-readable storage medium storinginstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to perform operations including: supplying toa client device data for display on a graphical user interface, the dataincluding prompts for a first individual to provide a vote for apreference that relates to an activity during an ephemeral time period;receiving the vote from the client device; generating matches betweenthe first individual and one or more individuals from a pool ofindividuals based upon common votes and matching criteria associatedwith the first individual, the common votes representing a correspondingpreference indicated by the vote from the first individual and votes ofthe one or more individuals from the pool of individuals, and thematching criteria specifying one or more characteristics of one or moreindividuals from the pool of individuals, wherein generating the matchesincludes applying respective weights to the common votes and thematching criteria, including: during the ephemeral time period, applyinga weight to the common votes that is greater than a weight applied tothe matching criteria; and after the ephemeral time period, applying aweight to the matching criteria that is greater than a weight applied tothe common votes; supplying to the client device data for display on thegraphical user interface, the data including the matches and prompts forthe first individual to accept or decline the matches; receiving a matchacceptance from the client device for a second individual; in responseto receiving the match acceptance, enabling network communication by amessaging system between the first individual and the second individualfor the ephemeral time period; and automatically disabling the networkcommunication by the messaging system after the ephemeral time periodexpires.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the vote is collected from agesture applied to the client device.
 10. The system of claim 9, whereinthe gesture is collected from a screen tap in a graphical user interfacesupplied to the client device.
 11. The system of claim 8, furthercomprising modifying the weight applied to the common votes and theweight applied to the matching criteria after the ephemeral time periodexpires.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein the client device is amobile device.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the messaging systemis configured to display an image associated with the first individualor the second individual.
 14. The system of claim 8, further comprisingsending a push notification to the client device with the prompts for afirst individual to provide the vote for a preference that relates tothe activity during the ephemeral time period.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, whenexecuted by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors toperform operations comprising: supplying to a client device data fordisplay on a graphical user interface, the data including prompts for afirst individual to provide a vote for a preference that relates to anactivity during an ephemeral time period; receiving the vote from theclient device; generating matches between the first individual and oneor more individuals from a pool of individuals based upon common votesand matching criteria associated with the first individual, the commonvotes representing a corresponding preference indicated by the vote fromthe first individual and votes of the one or more individuals from thepool of individuals, and the matching criteria specifying one or morecharacteristics of one or more individuals from the pool of individuals,wherein generating the matches includes applying respective weights tothe common votes and the matching criteria, including: during theephemeral time period, applying a weight to the common votes that isgreater than a weight applied to the matching criteria; and after theephemeral time period, applying a weight to the matching criteria thatis greater than a weight applied to the common votes; supplying to theclient device data for display on the graphical user interface, the dataincluding the matches and prompts for the first individual to accept ordecline the matches; receiving a match acceptance from the client devicefor a second individual; in response to receiving the match acceptance,enabling network communication by a messaging system between the firstindividual and the second individual for the ephemeral time period; andautomatically disabling the network communication by the messagingsystem after the ephemeral time period expires.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the vote is collected froma gesture applied to the client device.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the gesture is collectedfrom a screen tap in a graphical user interface supplied to the clientdevice.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprisingmodifying the weight applied to the common votes and the weight appliedto the matching criteria after the ephemeral time period expires. 19.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein themessaging system is configured to display an image associated with thefirst individual or the second individual.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15 storing instructions which, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto perform operations comprising sending a push notification to theclient device with the prompts for a first individual to provide thevote for a preference that relates to the activity during the ephemeraltime period.